Regional renaissance : The future of electric and hybrid-electric aviation

Regional fully electric and hybrid-electric aviation isn’t quite here yet, but it’s coming, and these aircraft manufacturers are working hard to make it soon. Grace Hardy speaks to some of the leading players in the electric aviation industry to see how far away the end goal is.

This article was published in the August/September ‘25 edition of LARA. To read more articles like this, apply for your complimentary subscription today.

While the roar of the sustainability upheaval may seem to have quietened after its initial surge, it would appear to be the result of the greenwashing voices dying down and leaving in their wake an array of passionate companies with big ideas and realistic, thoroughly thought-out plans to bring those ideas to life.

Not only are targets looming such as IATA’s Fly Net Zero by 2050 pledge, but operators are searching for lower operating costs coupled with reduced emissions, especially on regional routes, and electric propulsion could eventually be the answer.

Heart Aerospace – The ES-30 hybrid-electric regional aircraft

Heart Aerospace is the developer of the ES-30 hybrid-electric regional aircraft. It seats 30 passengers and has a fully electric range of 107 nautical miles, followed by an extended hybrid range of 215 nautical miles, enabling optimised carbon reduction on short-haul flights but the ability to operate longer regional routes.

While the company was originally founded in Sweden, it has now made a strategic move over to the US to continue the development of its prototypes, placing its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, closer to its growing customer base, investor interest, and partnerships.

In terms of development, Heart Aerospace is progressing at a strong pace, having completed its first prototype, the X1, in September 2024. The first experimental flight at Plattsburgh International Airport is now planned for late 2025, a delayed date due to a necessary wing replacement identified during a structural test.

Following the completion of the X1’s experimental flights, development is planned for a Heart X2 prototype. Ultimately, certification is hoped for by 2029 or 2030, with Heart actively working with the FAA and EASA.

Airline partnerships factor heavily into Heart’s progress and appeared early in its development, such as a partnership with Loganair to explore use-cases for the ES-30, and orders for over 561 aircraft from a range of carriers, including United Airlines and Air Canada, who have also invested in the company.

In September 2024, the orders consisted of 250 firm orders, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120, and letters of intent for a further 191, but this may now have changed.

Electra – The EL9 Ultra Short 

Another hybrid-electric aircraft, Electra is the manufacturer of the EL9 Ultra Short, a nine-passenger aircraft with a USP that attempts to rival helicopters at a lower operating cost, based on its ability to take-off and land in just 50 metres, which is achieved by its landing speed being as low as 22 knots.

While a full-scale EL9 Ultra Short has not yet been revealed, Electra has been test flying another one of its designs, a piloted two-seat aircraft prototype called the EL2, for the past 18 months to test the core technologies of EL9, such as blown-lift aerodynamics and a hybrid-electric propulsion system that combines a redundant battery pack with a turbogenerator.

Currently, Electra has conducted over 80 test flights and demonstrated take-offs and landings in under 40 metres.

In terms of certification, Electra is optimistic for entry into service by 2029, following on from discussions with the FAA for the past two years to establish the certification basis plans.

Diana Siegel, the company’s Vice President Commercial Programmes, says: “Because Electra’s EL9 is a fixed-wing aircraft that flies on the wing from take-off to landing, it qualifies for certification under existing FAA Part 23 rules (CS 23 for EASA). This significantly reduces certification risk compared to aircraft that must be certified under new, more complex categories such as Powered Lift or SC-eVTOL.”

While hybrid-electric is Electra’s current route, the EL9 has been designed for a potential all-electric future. But until battery cell technology improves, the company does not envision this for at least another decade.

AURA AERO – ERA, the 19-seater aircraft

AURA AERO is another company that is using one of its smaller aircraft to develop a larger regional hybrid-electric aircraft.

ERA is a 19-seater aircraft with configurations for passengers, business, cargo, or medical evacuations, and is currently under development with help from the Integral E, a two-seater electric-thrust training and aerobatics aircraft that shares components with ERA.

On the development timeline, AURA AERO identified the key suppliers for ERA in early 2025 and is now set to begin manufacturing parts for the first prototype, with the first flight hoped for in less than two years.

The company has also signed a Pre-Application Contract (PAC) with EASA to help develop the framework for certification, which is aimed for by late 2028.

While funding posed the usual challenges, AURA AERO has acquired a range of private investors and received support from the Occitanie Region and the French Public Investment Bank (BPI), as well as funding from Innovacom, a venture capital firm.

In a first for the aeronautical industry, AURA AERO was also selected to receive EUR 95 million from the European Innovation Fund.

The manufacturer is certainly gaining momentum, which was made clear at the 2025 Paris Air Show, where AURA AERO secured several letters of intent, contributing to a total 550 pre-orders with carriers such as Marathon Airlines, Solyu, Jump Air, and Safarilink.

Another announcement that was made at the air show revealed that AURA AERO had partnered with VÆRIDION, with the two companies said to be discussing charging infrastructure at regional airports, policy frameworks, and technical commonalities.

ERA is a 19-seater aircraft currently under development, with the first flight hoped for in the next two years. Image: AURA AERO

VÆRIDION – Fully electric Microliner for sustainable regional travel

VÆRIDION takes us to a different playing field with its fully electric Microliner, complete with nine passenger seats and a fully electric range of 215 nautical miles, which the company claims is capable of serving 80 per cent of current turboprop routes.

VÆRIDION has also completed a Pre-Application Contract with EASA. However, it has not yet built a prototype. Instead, the first experimental flight is anticipated for December 2027.

In terms of how certification is looking, the Microliner is strategic in its design. What appealed to EASA on a safety front is that the aircraft is a multi-engine single propeller design, with mechanically and electrically separated electric engines.

There are also two thrust levels in the flight deck, one for each engine, which means that if one engine is inoperative, you simply lose some thrust, but there is no asymmetry or exceptional pilot workload as there would be with a traditional twin-engine aircraft.

The batteries are the key new components, but everything else on the aircraft is standard and is expected to be sourced in either a slightly modified or off-the-shelf form from third party suppliers, from aerostructures to avionics, which makes a large part of the aircraft not uncommon to current regulations.

Ivor Van Dartel, CEO of VÆRIDION, says: “We think we have solved the main question from a regulatory point of view, which is if you have a thermal runaway event inside your battery, is the primary structure of the aeroplane protected? Our battery module casings can do that, while still being light enough.”

Uniquely, the company is approaching development from a different angle by making its battery module in-house, with third party cells. There is also potential to develop similar battery modules for other aircraft within or outside VÆRIDION.

VÆRIDION is yet to build a prototype, with the company’s first experimental flight due in 2027. Image: VÆRIDION

Ground infrastructure – How are airports preparing for electric aircraft charging?

While the road to the future of electric aviation has posed some challenges, the outlook for the required ground infrastructure is remarkably positive, mostly because the world has been moving towards electric transport for some time.

Heart Aerospace and VÆRIDION are in the same boat in terms of using the industry standard for heavy electric vehicles, the Megawatt Charging System (MCS), which is expected to be finalised by 2025.

Heart Aerospace explains that airports will need to supply two to three megawatts per charger, which might require infrastructure upgrades or the use of power storage. In addition, the ES-30 will also require an MCS charger and a Battery Thermal Management Cart to cool and condition batteries during fast charging.

VÆRIDION’s Microliner requires a 600 kWh battery, which is roughly the same size as the kind found in fully electric lorries.

Van Dartel explains that currently in Germany, the government has launched an initiative to have 1,600 MW-class charging points for electric lorries.

VÆRIDION is proposing to streamline the initiative for aviation by placing charging points at regional airports for both electric cargo lorries and electric aircraft.

With airports implementing infrastructure such as charging points and solar panels for the electrification of other parts of their operations, Van Dartel feels that the arrival of electric aircraft will simply make sense.

AURA AERO claims that ERA can be charged within 30 minutes with superchargers, and has signed an agreement with EDF to develop the groundwork for future electric aviation and charging.

Electra’s EL9 is a little bit different, operating as a “plug-in hybrid” with batteries that recharge in-flight. However, ground charging is optional to further reduce fuel burn.

Passenger perception – Building trust in the future of electric aviation

In a 2021 study by CAST Centre, the public voiced two main concerns for electric vehicles – cost and a lack of charging points. Both are concerns that resonate with the aviation industry today.

However, today’s public aren’t yet entirely aware of electric aviation as a concept, let alone whether they would want to fly.

In a study by Innovate UK Business Connect, only 25 per cent of 2,000 UK adults had heard of battery-powered flight, and of that percentage the most common concerns were safety, battery weight and flight distance.

Christina Zander, Head of Communications at Heart Aerospace, says: “We believe passenger trust will come naturally once safety is demonstrated. Certified aircraft, regardless of propulsion system, meet the most stringent safety standards.”

Electra has carried several passengers on EL2 demonstration flights over the past year and received positive feedback, describing the experience as “smooth and like an elevator”, while observers noted the aircraft’s quietness.

“Based on this experience, we expect customer perception could actually be a driver of the adoption of hybrid-electric aircraft,” says Siegel.

According to AURA AERO, it is the logistical benefits of hybrid-electric regional aviation that will appeal to the public.

Jérémy Caussade, the company’s co-founder and President, says: “In a world where decarbonisation and environmental protection have become critical, global priorities, the need for connectivity and mobility remain just as essential, especially in regions where aviation is the only viable mode of transport.”

Meanwhile, VÆRIDION is taking the approach of targeting countries that are already making strides with technology, such as Norway, as they anticipate electric aircraft to be welcomed there.

Final thoughts – The electric revolution and the future of regional aviation

As it stands, electric propulsion technology still has a way to go, but the outlook is promising and, more than anything, the use-case hits the nail on the head for regional operators today, who are competing with the plentiful seats of low-fare airlines.

However, capacity could be traded for frequency. As mandates become stricter and traditional aircraft become more expensive to operate, electric propulsion, whether hybrid or fully electric further down the line, will respond to the needs of the commuter industry – and the ground infrastructure should be more than capable of handling it when the time comes.

With a future of low operating costs, low emissions, and an increasing need for connectivity to under-served regions, perhaps electric aviation will trigger the renaissance of regional aviation.